UKC

We are off to France for our hols and due to medical condition need to always be aware of the nearest a and e is located.

What is the set up in France do all major hospitals have an a and e unit? Anything need to look out for?

Hopefully we will never need it but better safe than sorry!!

A+E = 'Urgences'.

Make sure you have up to date EHIC cards - you won't receive free treatment, but it will be very cheap.

Trying to think back to when we had to use them. I think they also wanted to see our travel insurance before any treatment. But not sure.

I'd be surprised, but one thing to remember is that you might have been taken to a private clinic, or taken in a private ambulance (especially if you were injured skiing) which would be a lot more expensive and a lot more diligent about checking ability to pay (or be covered via a Mutuelle if you're a resident).

We've lived in France for over 7 years now, but just a few weeks after moving here my wife slipped on the stairs (sounds dodgy I know) and broke her ankle. I drove her to A&E at Gap hospital thinking Friday night A&E would be carnage. However we were seen straight away, she was x-rayed and kept in overnight to be operated on in the morning. She was given a private room, and since I'd driven an hour through a raging snowstorm to get there, they gave me another bed for the night in the same room.

We hadn't got round to registering on the French system, and so were simply 'tourists' and obviously didn't have travel insurance as we were now permanently resident in France.

They took down our contact details but nothing else was needed up front. All went well and she was discharged the next day with nothing to pay. A few weeks later we received an invoice - I forget how much but its was pretty low, 200-300€ maximum and in the end we were able to claim it back through EHIC (quicker than waiting to get a French Carte Vitale which ultimately took a year!).

All in all a very good first impression of what has turned out to be a very good health service (despite being a bit maddening with all the form filling etc).

In the Alpine regions at least most of the fire stations have ambulances in them. When I broke my collar bone I went to the local fire station where they gave me first aid and drove me to the hospital in Bourg St Maurice free of charge. I'm pretty sure that otherwise I'd have had to pay for a private ambulance.

Yes, our village has one as we have a volunteer fire service here. The ambulance has been busy now the local downhill scooter rental is open on the ski lift and I've heard it out a couple of times last week. Basically you'll potentially get tended to by a chef, plumber, landscape gardener, lumberjack, teacher and car mechanic most days. Good cross section of skills

This happened in Val d'Isere, which is probably a rather larger resort then your village. I know that the firefighters were all professionals since they assigned a charming female firefighter to talk to me in the ambulance to ensure that I wasn't suffering from concussion. The month was August, and my first port of call was the professionally staffed medical centre where all the staff were enjoying a three hour lunch break.

As for your volunteer fire service, would you be similarly mocking of the UK's lifeboat service, which is a charity manned entirely by volunteers?

Eh, I don’t think he is mocking anybody ?

I don't think that there is any mocking in the post.  In more rural areas it's not uncommon to have dual skilled people saving lives in whatever way, as you say similar to the lifeboat crews.  I just read it as a fact of life in his village. 

I'm sorry if I got the wrong end of the stick - I had a very good experience both at the fire station and at the hospital.

As mentioned, no mocking involved - I know all of those people personally and have the utmost respect for what they do, as well as the gendarmes in our village too who manage the mountain rescue side of things. Was just pointing out that things are a little different in my little 'coin perdu'. Obviously quickly written text can be easily misinterpreted so no harm done.

As for Val d'Isere - I got stretchered off the mountain while snowboarding years ago and put into a private ambulance and then private clinic so may have been a similar experience to yourself - definitely a travel insurance moment.

Yes we ended up at Urgences at the clinic in Moutiers and they wouldn't allow us to enter with our injured son until we showed them the EHIC and our insurance.

Yes, private hospitals do need to be watched out for. They can lead to punch ups 

https://www.coldmountainkit.com/knowledge/articles/helicopter-rescue-in-the...

Would you expect treatment at a private hospital here? Punch ups in hospitals tend to end in jail time, but it's easy to be a key board warrior...

Sorry Jim, I'm not sure I understand your point? And even if you are criticising me, and if so, for what?

I broke my arm while playing football in Grenoble where I worked  20 years ago and got fixed up at the local hospital. I had all the right paperwork (THAT had been a struggle) and if I was subsequently billed, it can't have been much or I would remember it.

Having recently gone through the British system, from  A&E to physio, when my wife broke her ankle, I wouldn't want to fault the staff in either, or differentiate between them.  Both were great.